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St Luke's Church consultation results
published
THE majority of people who
responded to a consultation over the future of St Luke's 'Bombed Out'
Church in Liverpool are supportive of limited development and events taking
place at the site.
The public consultation in August and September followed a commitment from
Mayor Joe Anderson to keep St Luke's in public ownership and secure a viable
future for the building.
Over 6,300 people responded to the survey about the famous landmark; 70% of
them from the City and the remainder from around the UK and as far away as
Hong Kong and Australia.
Although 65% of respondents were against full redevelopment, 75% were in
favour of some level of limited work to provide things such as toilets, food
and drink facilities, seating and a performance area.
More than 80% of people would like to see exhibitions at the site, closely
followed by live music, film, theatre and educational projects. Other ideas
suggested included guided tours and religious events; and only a small
percentage of people (4%) didn't want to see any events in the church or its
gardens.
Respondents were supportive of the stonework repairs that are currently
underway, funded by the City Council and Historic England, and want to see
the structure of the building made safe and preserved for the future.
People generally recognised St Luke's as a War Memorial and suggested ways
to make a more visible and prominent memorial and also felt strongly that
there should be public access to the site. Council lor Mark Norris, Liverpool
City Council's Heritage Champion, said:-
"It's great to see such a passionate and informed debate about St
Luke's.
The responses we have received have established a good degree of consensus
on the core issues of the acceptable extent of development and renovation
work and the types of uses and events that people wish to see. We will use
the results as the basis to make decisions in relation to the future of St
Luke's."
A summary of the results of the public consultation can be found
online.
Further announcements on a timescale for the next steps including looking
for an operator to run the site will be made in the near future.
Details will also be announced shortly of a public open day which will allow
a limited number of people access to the site to find out more about the
repair and restoration work that is currently underway. |
